Grace to you and peace from God our father and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen
The text for this meditation is written in the 3rd Chapter of Paul’s letter to the Colossians: Verses 12 – 17:
As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. 13 Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God.17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
The great gifting day has come and gone, and one point is again clear: gift-giving becomes very stressful for many people.
One of the reasons for this stress at the holiday season is the anxiety of what to get someone as a gift. It’s often been said that men are harder to buy gifts for than women. I don’t know what makes that saying true. However, I know my family has said that about me many times over the years. The idea of giving someone the perfect gift overtakes the giver. Anxiety sets in, and the possibility of rejection and inadequacy can be crippling. Trying to give a gift that’s memorable and lasting truly gets harder and harder as the years roll on.
In our text for this Sunday after Christmas, St. Paul gives us helpful suggestions for gift giving, insightful suggestions that can give cause to rethink this whole idea of gifting.
Actually, Paul’s words from the Lord are more than helpful, and they’re more than a suggestion. The apostle gives us a list of life changing gifts that will enrich the very soul: …… compassion, kindness, patience, forgiveness and above all, love.
In comparison to the stress of gift giving, receiving gifts is easy—or it should be. Simply to receive the love, care, mercy, and compassion of people in the form of a gift is often less stressful and more enjoyable than giving—or at least it should be. The stress is gone, and the joy of receiving is paramount.
Surprisingly enough, the ease of receiving tends to be the opposite of what we experience during the holiday season. Many have said, “It’s better to give than to receive.” I’m not sure that statement is accurate, especially when we look at it from a theological perspective.
One reason people may believe that giving is better than receiving stems from the focus area of the statement. When saying that giving is better than receiving, a person is more focused on looking at themselves as the centrepiece of the occasion, rather than on the one who is to receive. The world actually encourages this behaviour and denies the importance of what receiving is all about.
The gift of forgiveness and salvation is a free gift, one that comes with no strings attached. This gift is one we receive from Jesus without any merit or worthiness in us. The love of the Saviour is an unmatched and tremendous blessing. Therefore, the idea that receiving is far more important than giving comes to us directly in the form of the Son of God, on the cross, the sin-bearer of the world. Put in proper context, our receiving of this gift is a continuation of the promises of the Old Testament, where the Lord declares that he will send us a Saviour, his Son.
Not only is it deeply reassuring and surely commanded, but I’m certain that receiving forgiveness is the place where we build the foundational principles of our text for today. We hear clearly in v 12 of the text that we are God’s chosen ones—called by him and set apart by him for the purpose of doing his will. And as “God’s chosen ones”, we are God’s people, and he has extended his hand to us and marked us. The text continues, telling us that we are beloved and holy people of God: “as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved.” ….. Now, this is no small declaration for the faithful children of Christ. As his chosen and set-apart ones, we are not alone and living for ourselves. We are his, chosen and called to share his love and compassion. (v 12) “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience”.
Once on a Clergy retreat, the convener, a Dr of Theology, asked us if we had ever done private confession. That was to say, had we ever confessed our sins vocally to another person? At that stage in my life, I had not done private confession. I actually felt quite uncomfortable with the idea. He told us that there’s no greater feeling than verbalising and being subsequently forgiven for something you’ve done in life.
Almost one year later at another retreat, I took him up on that encouragement, and, while stressed and somewhat embarrassed, I did private confession. I found that he was exactly right. There is no better feeling than being specifically forgiven. It was revolutionary for my Christian life. In my Christian Church experience this was not a new concept, but it was a new experience for me. I had just humbled myself and confessed; and as a result, I received the free and clear gift of personal forgiveness! I feel a bit like the Shepherds at Christmas, I want to tell everyone who listens about the gift that’s freely given to all of God’s children out of his love and grace.
The text for today clearly encourages each of us to also forgive one another in Christian love: (vv 12–13) “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive”.
If we are honest with ourselves, how often are we not willing to forgive those who’ve hurt us because it seems to empower us as we withhold forgiveness. You know, I can say from experience, it’s so easy to justify your own stubborn stance. “Why should I apologise? I did nothing wrong in the first place!! They should be apologising to me!!” “When they seek my forgiveness, maybe I’ll consider it, but not before!” Friends, this is a stance that destroys the soul.
The apostle encourages us to see and know that our ability to forgive comes from the reality that we are first forgiven by Christ in our own lives; thus we are able to forgive others. This is a beautiful reality in which we live as children of the Heavenly Father.
Immediately following this encouragement about forgiving, we’re told to put on love: (v 14) “And above all these put-on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony”. Love is what binds all things together in the life of the Christian. One of my confirmation class students once asked me, “How do we put on love?”
This question, for the Christian, can conjure up a beautiful picture of God’s love and mercy. God the Father has showered us with his love. His love comes to us in the form of His Son on the cross. We know this reality through the Word of God as it reminds us in many places and in the many different ways we experience His love in our lives, in the form of Christ service to us.
For all Christians, the love of Christ is poured out in Holy Baptism, where we are robed in love. Therefore, putting on love is a reality of our relationship to Christ as his chosen people. Like many aspects of our relationship to Christ, we graciously accept this free gift of love. To reject it is to invite despair into our lives.
The text before us today reminds us strongly that the Word of God dwells in us. (vv 16–17) “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him”.
We remain hopeful and joyful at this reality. It is through that very Word that we are encouraged and strengthened to be able to meet the tasks before us with confidence and joy. As we put on love to share forgiveness and mercy, as we provide the gift of forgiveness to those who’ve hurt us and trespassed against us, we are able to take encouragement and nourishment from the Word of God as it reminds us and empowers us in our lives in Christ.
We give freely the gift of forgiveness as it has been freely given to us by Christ our Lord and risen, living Saviour. As written in (John 15:11) “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete”.
So there we have it, there is no anxiety, no big decisions, you don’t even have to pay a price. Receive what the Lord freely gives us as a gift we can carry with us into eternity. Receive it with joy and thankfulness knowing that you are forgiven freely, without price and without worthiness on your part. This is the true gift of love, a gift that in Christ’s holy name we are encouraged to generously share. How blessed we are. Amen.
The love and peace of our Great Triune God that is beyond all human understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen
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